(If you’re just here to find a creative brief template to use for your next project, you can find my current form right here.  Feel free to use it or modify it to meet your needs.)

What is a Creative Brief?

A creative brief is a fairly simple document in principle; it’s a summary of the main points a project needs to incorporate into the final design.  But it’s much more than that.  It’s the document you can refer to stay on strategy, and it helps you determine the project’s scope with your client. The more detailed a brief is, the more effective your copy or design can be and the more pleased your client will be.  You can deliver better results faster by starting with this simple document, and that’s a great way to build your portfolio, client list, and rates.

What should be in a Creative Brief?

There are a few main points that a productive brief should hit:

• Who is the target audience?  The copy or design you’re creating should be effective for a specific demo or psychographic group.  The more specific you and the client can be here, the more effective your end product.
  •  For example: Client requests copy for ad placement in a magazine. They want the copy to be useful for everyone, since their product is perfect for everyone (yes, I know – aren’t they all?)  But since the ad you’re building is going to be in a magazine with a demo that is primarily married women, aged 35-50, median income of $100K, and geographically located in northern California – writing something that pleases everyone isn’t going to be as effective as writing an ad that speaks directly to this audience.  Instead of being an ad that bores the reader, an effective brief can help you create something that the reader can relate to.  And this is a much better use of your client’s ad budget.
  • What is the primary message?  What specifically is your client trying to say in this space?  Is the project’s purpose to build the brand or is it to sell more widgets?  Is it to engage an audience in social media or attract more readers to a specific feature?  When your client knows what the message is, you can use this to make something that nails it on the first try.
  • What are the deliverables needed? While this looks small, it’s pretty important.  If you’re client thinks you’re going to deliver ad copy, site design, and a custom template, and you’re thinking that you only need to deliver ad copy – you’re going to see there’s a pretty big disconnect before you even start the project.  Clearly outlining the deliverables here will help prevent the dreaded scope creep down the road.
  • What is the desired tone/voice for this project?  This is critical to help you create the product.  If you know the right tone, you’ve got a much better chance of delivering the right design with a minimum of revisions.
    • For example: On a project without a brief, you might not know that your client is looking for something with a more serious/professional tone.  Your delivery of a cute design/funny copy might not be met with the reception you were hoping for.  Best case, you get to do another design – possibly for free.  Worst case, you lose the project and the client.
    • What is the Call to Action? While this might be more relevant for writers/web designers, it’s pretty important for any project.  The CTA is not quite the same as the primary message, but oftentimes your client might confuse the two.  An effective CTA is a clear direction as to what you want the target audience to do.  Click the Like Button.  Tweet this message.  Buy Now.  Call Now.  If your ad doesn’t have a CTA, chances are it’s an expensive, and not very effective, article.
    • Are there any project mandatories?   While this seems pretty obvious, it’s a huge timesaver for your projects.  It’s saved my ass a few times, as there are some things that might get edited out to ensure the copy stays on target for a specific word count, but upon review of the brief I am reminded that they are required to be there.  Some of the more common ones are specific phone numbers/email addresses, mention of specific associations/dates, etc.  A quick review of the brief can save you a revision, and that’s a very good thing.

You can include additional information in your brief, and as you progress in your freelance career, you’ll have a better understanding of what to ask and what to look for in briefs submitted by your clients.

In my experience, projects that have a creative brief have allowed me to create better copy, faster, and with minimal (if any) revisions required.  I think they might help you, too.

Here’s a copy of the brief I’m currently using.  Feel free to download and modify it to fit your needs.

If you’re currently using a brief for your projects, what are the biggest benefits for you?

if you’re a freelancer here on the island and you’re interested in helping shape the next freelance event, please complete this survey (created by Mike Dewolfe, of ThoseDewolfes.com)

We’d love to know what you want the next event to be like.

Here’s a link with some info about the FreelanceCamp we held at inHub coworking space in October.

Here’s the link to the survey – and there are less than 10 questions, so do it now before you forget.

I’m quite lucky to be in the writing business, as it’s one of those places where there will always be someone in need of compelling content. As long as there are products to sell there will be work for copywriters, but just because there is a need doesn’t mean the clients are beating a path to my door. To ensure I can enjoy my fuzzy bunny slippers for another day, I make sure to invest time daily to prospect for new clients, and here are a few tips I’ve found that seem to make the process easier.  Regardless of the type of freelancing you do, these tips will hopefully help you land more business.

Let the tools do their job

I’ve setup my Tweetdeck to alert me when the term “copywriter” is used in a tweet, and this has been one of the most effective ways for me to find new clients.  As soon as something is tweeted I can follow the link to see where the person posted to learn a bit about their expectations, as well as gain some insight into the scope of their project.  Often the tweets are retweets from various job boards, but sometimes they are from tweople looking for a freelancer, which is great because it gives you the opportunity to research them before you respond.  A detailed response showing you know something about their business is much more impressive than a canned response of “I’m a copywriter – hire me!”

Another option is to setup a Google alert for a specific phrase, like “web developer needed” or “hiring graphic designer.”  This is an easy way to get notified the moment Google finds a site with this phrase, allowing you to be one of the first to jump on it.

Self-promotion

There are some people that can talk about themselves endlessly.  This is not self-promotion. Telling your prospective clients how great you are is one thing; showing them is another.  Talk about how you can help them with their business, how you can solve their specific problem, or how you were able to help a client just like them exceed their targets.  The key is to talk about them and their needs.  Just like sex – your needs aren’t really that important.  Prove to the prospect that you know what they need, and why you’re the best person to do it.

Blogs, forums, and other online communities, including and especially LinkedIn, are a great space for you to engage in self-promotion.  As you establish yourself as an expert, you’ll start to find new referrals coming in from these sources.  There’s a ton of value when an established professional recommends your business to their clients, and this happens more frequently than you might think.  Nobody wants to hand off good clients to bad freelancers, but there are going to be times in your freelance life that you’re just too busy to take on that new client, so it’s nice to have someone that has impressed you within your virtual community.

That being said – don’t be shy when someone asks about your business.  Have a short description to share with them, but make it memorable by using examples that relate to their business.

Network: online, offline, often

While this is one of the easiest things you can do to build your business, it’s among the hardest for many freelancers, but I’ll let you in on a little secret.  Spend at least twice as much time listening as you do talking.  It’s the best way to meet new people and build the referral component of your business.  When clients are doing your promotion for you, you’re doing something right.

Find an event  that interests you. It doesn’t need to be a chamber mixer or a business lunch, but if that’s what your into, I won’t judge.  It can be a tweetup, a meetup, a facebook event, an afternoon at your local food shelter (anything we can do to help the Mustard Seed is time well spent)  - the point is, it doesn’t really matter as long as there are other people there and you’re genuinely interested in being there.  Networking is about making connections with other people.  It’s not about finding customers or making a sale.  It’s introductions, conversations, and experience, and that’s the key to building your business.

Opportunity Knocks, but why wait?

Your freelancing career – your business – needs to be nurtured in order to grow.  If you aren’t doing it, nobody else will either.  Take some time every day to build your network, increase your education, and give your business the effort it requires.  Some people think being a freelancer means doing nothing: casually working from home, checking facebook all day, and not showering for weeks at a time.  Real freelancers – successful freelancers – know that’s not true at all (except the showering part – sometimes that happens…)

Trading your 9am-5pm job for a life of 5am – 10pm freelancing is hard work, but it’s worth it!

The 'stache is back!

To start, I need to apologize to my wife.  Despite having a moustache when we first met (me, not her) she still managed to get past the revulsion of my hairy appendage and eventually (in a moment of weakness) agreed to marry me.  That being said, let’s just say November is not her favourite month thanks to Movember.

Movember, the international month of the moustache (of if you prefer, mustache), was created in Australia (but an “Australian moustache” is a different hairy beast…) to create awareness and raise funds in support prostate health.  MoBros and MoSistas around the world have raised over $176 million since 2004. Last year in Canada, over $22.3 million was raised and directed to programs in the areas of awareness and education, survivorship, and research.  Now that I’m 40 (sorry Mom), it’s become rather important.  I’d hate to think that 40 is middle-aged since  I plan on living well into triple digits, and unless Apple starts a personal augmentation product (PAPs for men and women!), I’ll need to take care of the parts I was born with.

Last year I participated in the Movember follicle challenge (growing hair on my face is something I’ve been able to do for quite some time), but that’s all I did.  I grew hair. I didn’t shave.  Since I’m a fulltime freelancer, suffice to say it wasn’t a huge inconvenience for me.  This year, I’d like to contribute a bit more and that’s where you come in.  If you click right here, you can donate a dollar to support my fuzzy lip.  Technically, you’re supporting a darker part of me, too – but try not to think about that.

This year I’m asking my friends and family to donate one dollar. A loonie. A buck. You can donate more if you’d like, but I’ve tried to make the process as easy as possible for you.  Click the button, enter your info, and then feel warm inside for helping make a difference. Or be happy that you (or your man) don’t have to rock the ‘stache since I’m doing it for you. Live vicariously through my hairy lip.

Please Donate a Dollar

If you aren’t able to donate, please share this message with your friends/family to help support the cause.  Help create an awareness about Men’s Health concerns, and maybe you’ll help save a life. Hopefully it’s mine!

Thank you

Thanks for reading this, thanks for sharing it, thanks for laughing at my ‘stache, thanks for the condolences for Barb, but most of all – thanks for digging into your pocket and donating.  It’s very much appreciated.  From the bottom of my heart, as well as a much lower spot of my anatomy.

(If you prefer to use the official Movember donation page, please go right ahead.  You can click here to be taken to my profile page)

Ok – maybe I failed my class on alliteration, but it might have been due to excessive time spent on the internet looking at brilliant infographics.  They’re a great way to convey a message in a fun way that is easily shareable.

Warning – you might accidently learn something from one (or more) – you’ve been warned! J

www.FlowingData.com

www.lokeshdhakar.com

Not sure of the difference between a latte and a cappuccino?  The next iteration needs a shot in the dark (shot of espresso in a cup of drip coffee) and a cafe affogato (espresso with ice cream) (read his informative article here)

www.columnfivemedia.com

Are you guilty of any of these email sins?  Odd that reply to all wasn’t included!

www.webintravel.com

Some predictions for the future of airline travel.  This should drive the conspiracy/privacy folks nuts!

www.bigorangeslide.com

My time in an agency was limited – but I still loved this infographic.  (saying that as I sample from the bottle in my drawer while contemplating my unfinished novel…)

Yesterday we did a post outlining why a freelancer is a good option for local businesses, especially if you’re just getting started.  Today we’re sharing the names and contact info of some of the local talent, to help your business do more while spending less.  Please give them a call for your next project:

(please contact me if you’re a freelancer near Victoria or Vancouver and you’d like to be added)

In no particular order

Copywriters/Communications/Writers

• Nic Springer – BitPiston
• Lisa Weeks – Minding Your Own Business
• Lillian Sue – in Retrospect
• Kristin Quayle – Quayle Communications
• Fiona Gilsenan – Fiona Gilsenan
• Shannon Kernaghan – Grandview Consulting
• Holly Romanow – Grandview Consulting
• Brennan Storr – Largely the Truth
• Michelle Buchanan – Michelle Buchanan
• Mel Wood – Melzilla Productions
• Erin Labbe – My Urban Suburban
• Leah Baade – Leah Baade
• Me! (Jason Finnerty) – Brandscaping

Graphic Designers

• Moses Waswa Mukasa – DowImagery
• Matt Magi – Voltage New Media
• Jennie Dixon – 504 Design Studio
• Jessica Weber – Star Graphic Design
• Alison King – Alison Heather Illustration
• Margaret Hanson – Margaret Hanson Design
• Katharine Holmes – Katharine Holmes
• Derek Sou – Derek Sou
• John Tanaka – Tanaka Creative
• Jon Wright – Missing Link Studios
• Tara Williamson – Tara Williamson Illustration & Design
• Jason Nielsen – Jason Nielsen
• Anna Clark – Serac Design
• Taiyo Greenaway – Greenaway Design
• Todd McDowell – Todd McDowell Designs
• Josephine Duffy – Josephine Graphic Design
• Doug Harrington - Harrington Creative
• Brad Felt – Creative Juices

IT Consultants

• Andrew McLean – McLean Consulting
• Kris Constable – PrivaSecTech
• Sarah Moore-Coll – Alias Training

Web Designers/Programmers

• Mike DeWolfe – Those DeWolfes Creative
• Chris Whiteley – Chris Whitely
• Jesse McClinton – Alter Ego Marketing
• Alex Blackie – Alex Blackie
• Catherine Winters – Omega Point
• Daniel Ferguson - In Search of Beauty
• Kris Constable – OneDay Website
• Kevin McArthur – Storm Tide 
• Paul Rozman – Live Sites
• Devin Columbus – DMC Works
• Adam McFadyen – Dabzo
• Emma Lecours – EmmaLecours.com

Marketing Experts (social/online/traditional)

• Leif Jason – MasterMynde
• Theresa Scholes – ClickVA
• David Caughran – Connected Thought
• Anthony Sanna/Terri Davies – Sociability
• Mat Wright – Wright Results
• Chris Burdge – bWest Interactive
• Jose Albis – Albis Group

Branding/User Experience

• Aaron Martin Wilson Johnson – Never Complex
• Brad Felt - Creative Juices

PR Experts

• Lorne Daniel – Grandview Consulting

Business/Personal Coaching

• Mike Vardy – Vardy.me

Photographers/Videographers

• Scott Valentine – DesignsTwenty20
• Will Winter – Will Winter Photography
• Ben Moore - Grandview Consulting
• Eric Porcher – Soul Windows

Virtual Assistants

• Mary Katherine Ross – Document Diva
• Elise Tailleur – a la mode office

If you’re running a small business in Victoria and don’t have a list of local freelancers at your disposal, you’re either paying too much or not getting the quality you need – or even worse – it might be both.

Most small businesses understand the need to advertise, especially for those just starting up, hoping to create an awareness around their brand.  The challenge is, money is tight.  If you think an ad agency is the only option, you might be surprised to learn how much you can do yourself.  While an ad agency is great for creating a comprehensive campaign, it can be a huge expense. I agree that this is an investment, but if you don’t have the cash flow to keep your business running, it doesn’t matter how many people hear about you. There are many things you can do initially to keep the costs in line, without sacrificing quality. If you can do some project management, here are five ways that a freelancer can help your business:

1. Freelance Copywriter – whether it’s the words on your website, on your brochure, in an ad, or on your menu – a freelance copywriter can compel your audience to take the action you dictate. But a freelance copywriter can do more than that – they can help you apply for grants to find more money for your business or reply to RFPs to help you land bigger and better projects.
2. Freelance Designer – you can use a graphic designer to layout your brochure, create an impressive logo, design an effective direct mail piece, or form the graphics standards for your small business, ensuring your brand image is consistent and effective.
3. Freelance Web Designer/Web Programmer – while a freelance coder is likely a less frequently used option for your small business, it can be a huge savings right up front.  A personal geek to help you create the online experience you want for your customers, including your social media presence.  Instead of choosing a pre-made template, you can have a web designer create a custom look to accurately represent your brand online.  In addition to creating your website, a programmer can help you create the software tools you need to run your business more efficiently.
4. Freelance Social Media Marketer – If you’re not quite ready to dip your own toes in the pool of social media, either due to a lack of time, interest, or understanding, you can hire a freelance social media marketer to help you find the path that will meet your online needs.  Your online marketer can help you create a conversation within the social media neighbourhoods, create effective campaigns to develop a solid fan base, or help you with your online advertising options, ensuring you’re getting the best bang for your buck.
5. Virtual Assistant – A virtual assistant (VA) can give you one of the most precious resources available – time.  What a VA can do for you is pretty unlimited, especially if you’ve chosen one with a boatload of initiative.  A VA can research your competition, find grants applicable to your business, source RFPs for you to bid on, review resumes, schedule appointments, and much more.  Once they’ve found the info you need, they can project manage the other freelancers to help you get what you need done. The only limitation is the lack of a physical presence, but your savings more than makes up for that.  If you’re considering a personal assistant, but not sure if you can justify the cost, look for a Virtual Assistant so you can focus on the part of your business that fuels your passion.

As with everything about your business, it’s important to choose the right tool for the job.  When choosing a freelancer, look at the companies they’ve worked with before.  Talk to their previous clients, and look at the actual results.  You probably have more time than money available, so invest it in hiring local freelancers to help you build your business. The ROI will be worth the effort, and you’ll be able to control your cash flow much easier.  When you need a full marketing campaign, you’ll be able to make the investment required with an ad agency – unless you’re like many clients who enjoy being part of the process and continue working with local freelance talent.

These are just a few of the talents available in the freelance world – but there are many more, including:

• Accountants/Bookkeepers
• Freelance Videographers
• Freelance Photographers
• Traditional Marketers
• Public Relations Experts
• Caterers
• Promoters
• Business Coach
• Motivational Coach
• Productivity Experts
• IT Consultants

And many more – if you’re not sure if there’s a freelance option to meet you need, leave me a note and I will find one for you!

In a quasi-democratic way (as democratic as a facebook question button can be), it was determined that the funds raised ($400) be donated to the Mustard Seed Food Bank, to help them continue to put food in the bellies of local people in need.

The YYJFree team would like to thank the participants and the sponsors for making FreelanceCamp a success and we’re grateful to be able to pay it forward by donating to the Mustard Seed Food Bank.

If you don’t know what the Mustard Seed is, here are a few recent articles to show what they do and why every penny raised will help them help others:

• Planting a seed for a cash-strapped charity
• Cash-strapped Mustard Seed forced into mortgage
• Food Bank Takes Loan to Make Ends Meet

and check out the Mustard Seed’s website to read about the projects they’re working on.

If you’ve got the time, why not invest it by volunteering for the Mustard Seed?  Warning – volunteering is habit forming. You will have fun.  You will meet some pretty amazing people.  You will be helping a worthy cause.  Give it a try – hopefully we can meet there, too!

 We hope you had as much fun at freelance camp as we did, and we’ve got a quick survey for you to help us make the next event better.  Please take a minute to let us know what we did well, and what we can do better for next time.

YYJFreelanceCamp Survey

Don’t forget to follow the link to let us know where to donate the $400 raised in ticket sales.

Please give a quick shoutout to our sponsors for providing excellent food and fantastic prizes to share with you.

• Ali Baba Pizza
• Kitchens of Distinction (Shirley Lang – local freelancer)
• PopChips
• Hemlock Printing
• VIATeC (tectoria)
• Varial Technologies
• Billings (market circle)
• Those DeWolfes Creative
• inHub Coworking Space

Attendees of today’s FreelanceCamp are eligible for a one time discount of 20% off the regular price of Billings 3.  Nothing better than saving money on a tool that will help you make more money!

As well as the discount – Market Circle has provided us with 3 licenses to give away as door prizes!! Sweet!

Hope you’re enjoying the event – and please give a shout out to @marketcircle for providing this great deal!